A study examined whether there were differences in the ways that undergraduate college students viewed their academic performance. Relationships between sex of student, motivation, self esteem, achievement, and attributional pattern utilized were examined. Subjects (132 female, 104 male) were chosen on a voluntary basis; most were enrolled in a required introductory communication course which draws widely from the university population. Students were given class time to complete a questionnaire and received extra credit. Data were collected from a series of questionnaires. The first two hypotheses addressed the relationship between locus of causality and levels of self esteem. Neither hypothesis was supported. The third hypothesis posited that a subject's level of motivation would be affected by the perceived stability of his/her performance. This hypothesis was supported. The fourth hypothesis examined the relationship between levels of self esteem and perceived controllability of performance outcomes. No support was found for this hypothesis. The fifth and sixth hypotheses examined the relationship between biological sex and locus of causality. The fifth hypothesis posited that females would attribute success externally and failure internally; the sixth hypothesis posited that males would attribute success internally and failure externally. No hypothesis was supported. (Contains 77 references.) (NKA)